Badoglio, Pietro

Badoglio, Pietro (1871–1956) Italy's head of state after the removal of Mussolini After the downfall of Benito Mussolini as dictator of fascist Italy in 1943, the government devolved upon Marshal Pietro Badoglio, who concluded an armistice with the Allies in September 1943, even as his country continued to be occupied by the Germans, Italy's erstwhile ally. Badoglio was commissioned an artillery officer in the Italian Army in 1890 and saw action in the ill-fated Ethiopian campaign of 1896 and the Italo-Turkish War. He performed heroically in World War I, leading the capture of Monte Sabotino on August 6, 1916. Badoglio's command was defeated in the generally disastrous Battle of Caporetto on October 24, 1917, but his reputation survived intact, and, as a general, it was he who conducted the armistice talks on behalf of Italy. After World War I, Badoglio was elevated to chief of the general staff, serving in this capacity from 1919 to 1921. Badoglio was generally oblivious to the rise of Mussolini and remained unmoved by Il Duce's epoch-making march on Rome in 1922. However, the following year, he embraced the Mussolini government and was appointed ambassador to Brazil, serving until Mussolini recalled him to Italy in May 1925 to serve once again as chief of staff. On May 26, 1926, he was promoted to field marshal. Badoglio was dispatched to Italian Libya as its governor from 1928 to 1934 and was created marquis of Sabotino. In 1935, he was assigned to command Italian forces in Ethiopia, led the capture of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and served briefly there in 1936 as Italy's viceroy. This earned him the title of duke of Addis Ababa. Badoglio differed sharply with Mussolini over Italy's preparations for entry into World War II during 1940. Disgusted by the defeat of the Italian Army in Greece, a disaster he laid at the feet of Mussolini, Badoglio resigned as chief of staff on December 4, 1940. To this day, it remains unclear whether Badoglio's objections were chiefly military or moral. Whatever the case, Badoglio began working covertly to bring about the ouster of Mussolini, which was accomplished on July 25, 1943. With Il Duce's removal, Badoglio was appointed prime minister, and although he assured Italy's ally Germany that his nation would continue to prosecute the war, he made secret overtures to the Allies, ultimately negotiating an armistice on September 3. Just five days later, Italy's unconditional surrender to the Allies was announced, whereupon Badoglio officially dissolved the Fascist Party. OnOctober 13, Badoglio's Italy declared war on Germany. From this point until the end of the war, the Allied campaign against German-occupied Italy was arduous, bloody, and heartbreaking. Badoglio resigned as prime minister in June 1944 in order to permit the formation of a new cabinet in liberated Rome. He retired to his estate in Grazzano Badoglio and lived out the remainder of his life as a private citizen.